Safety and quality update: July 2022
12 July 2022
New this month: Safety alert on epidural kit supply disruption, plus others; ACSQHC Sepsis Clinical Care Standard; WebAIRS events New Zealand; Opioids webinar; NZ QI tools; ACHS Awards; and more.
Safety alerts
- Management of potential supply disruption to epidural kits (Reissued 19/7)
- Product defect correction: Getinge Sevoflurane Quik-Fil Vaporizer, yellow substance in vaporizer
- Two product defect corrections: Medtronic NIM EMG Endotracheal Tubes
- CO2 insufflation in endoscopy reduces risk of air embolism
- Product defect correction: Carestation 750/750c Anesthesia Delivery Systems – O2 mixer failure conditions
- Product defect correction: damaged barrels on BD Plastipak 50mL Syringe with Luer-Lok Tip
- Product defect correction: Medfusion syringe pumps models 3000 and 4000, eight issues
See all Safety alerts
ACSQHC launches ANZCA-endorsed Sepsis Clinical Care Standard
ANZCA is pleased to endorse the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare’s (ACSQHC’s) Sepsis Clinical Care Standard, launched on 30 June 2022.
More than 8,700 Australians die from sepsis each year. The Sepsis Clinical Care Standard contains seven quality statements describing the care that should be provided, and a set of indicators to support monitoring and quality improvement.
ANZCA provided feedback on several of the quality statements, which was accepted in full. Anaesthetists provide leadership within hospitals for the recognition and treatment of sepsis, and our endorsement underscores the importance of the Standard to all clinicians.
Read the standard
WebAIRS at the Combined Scientific Congress NZSA & ASA – Wellington New Zealand from 21 – 24 October 2022
Fellows, trainees, and SIMGs are invited to attend two webAIRS events at the Combined Scientific Congress of the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists (NZSA) and Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) in Wellington, New Zealand.
- Case analysis workshop, hosted by ANZTADC: Friday 21 October,1.30 – 3.00pm (ANZCA CPD eligible)
This participatory workshop will analyse some sample anaesthetic adverse events inspired by real incidents in webAIRS. You will also learn how to report into webAIRS, which incidents to report, using webAIRS at your local morbidity and mortality meetings, and about the webAIRS case analysis and discussion process.
- Learning from adverse events (panel), Sunday 23 October, 3.30 – 5.00pm
Dr Yasmin Endlich, Dr Martin Culwick and Dr Russell Rarity present on incident reporting in Australia and New Zealand, medication errors, and a new webAIRS safety initiative inspired by the airlines.
Visit the webAIRS website to register to report anaesthetic incidents.
Register for CSC
Standards driving quality – ANZCA editorial in the Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research
ANZCA’s Director of Professional Affairs – Professional Documents, Dr Peter Roessler, wrote an editorial for the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia’s flagship journal in June, on how standard setting and multidisciplinary review drive quality improvement in healthcare.
Read the article
Choosing Wisely Champion Health Services webinar – Opioid Wisely: Impact of policy interventions on oxycodone prescribing
Opioid prescribing rates are continuing to increase in Australia. This webinar presents a study evaluating the impact of two policy interventions around oxycodone 5mg discharge prescriptions in digital public health electronic prescribing hospitals in Queensland.
The webinar took place on 6 July, but a recording is available to watch on demand.
View recording
HQSCNZ new health quality intelligence tools
The Health Quality and Safety Commission New Zealand has announced two new tools to support data-informed quality improvement:
- The Measures Library (He Kete Rauemi) will publish a range of quality-focused measures and resources in a centralised reference ‘library’ with the aim of creating a common understanding of health system and service measurement.
- Experience Explorer, an improved tool for reporting results from the national patient experience programme, will provide access to results from both the adult hospital inpatient experience survey and the adult primary care patient experience survey.
Read more
Enter the ACHS Quality Improvement Awards 2022
If your organisation implemented quality improvement programs and strategies for safer and more effective patient care in the last year, you can enter the ‘Clinical Excellence and Patient Safety’ category of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards’ QI Awards. Entries close 9 September 2022.
Read more
International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, Sydney, 24–26 July 2022
This inspiring conference is hosted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and is suited to all those passionate about improving outcomes for their patients and communities. Themed New horizons: Quality improvement shaping the future, the Sydney program will ask how to tackle the important post-pandemic challenges ahead of us and will invite action.
View program